Vanessa Redgrave is Brilliant in Coriolanus

Vanessa Redgrave is undoubtably one of our greatest actors, and both Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams have said so.  She has won a slew of awards including  Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Golden Globe, and the SAG awards. Her accomplishments in film and on the stage are almost too numerous to mention.  She is probably best known for her roles in the films “Julia”, “Prick Up Your Ears”, “Mission: Impossible” and “Howard’s End”.  She came by the SiriusXM studios to talk with Ron Bennington about her role in the incredible new Ralph Fiennes film, “Coriolanus”.

Ron Bennington: I’ve seen your film twice now. On the first viewing, I just let everything come to me. The second time, I realized that Ralph Fiennes has done such a good job directing it. And so many things happen on first viewing that you almost take it for granted.  And it’s phenomenal that the film translates so well.  

Vanessa Redgrave: Exactly, I agree. I’ve only seen it twice myself.  I last saw it in New York when it was premiering.

Ron Bennington:   I was telling this to Ralph, it’s almost embarrassing that this older work can be translated to a modern time because it means we just haven’t gotten any smarter.

Vanessa Redgrave: (laughs) That’s interesting.  Yes there are a heck of a lot of the same problems which is why this film surprises everyone by being so relevant. It’s also why Shakespeare is still performed all over the world more than any other playwright.  He’s always gone on speaking. And I think it’s partly because he’s not a propaganda writer. He doesn’t have a distinct point of view or message. He’s gone into, “what are these kind of people like?”  And you may not like any of them very much but you’re going to know much more about the world you live in if you carry on looking and listening.

Ron Bennington: And particularly with this work, I think it puts some of the blame on us. The fickleness of the masses. We want something spectacular all the time, and we will change our opinions so easily. Sometimes people get all fired up over a new election, and then they all back away. The anti-war movement builds up but then they don’t let that power carry on to bring about real change.

Vanessa Redgrave: That’s partly because of lack of analysis and lack of any, roughly speaking, leader who can analyze. If you get into a tricky time like ours, you sure need plenty of real analysis…real analysts. I couldn’t understand why feminists went wild because Mrs. Thatcher was elected. Oh a woman prime minister! But what damage did she do to our country? And to many others indirectly. So I’m not a feminist. But I think we all can live and learn so much. Because that fickleness that Shakespeare’s showing in the film Coriolanus, that “we’re for you, bravo! It’s such an honor to meet you!” … And then 24 hours later, historically speaking, so little time, a week, a month, three months, and the person is out. Straight out. And that’s a combination of circumstances. But you know what I think?  I think that it’s because human beings– and this is a good side as well as a rather weak side– human beings are very idealistic. They are looking for something better. Whether it’s through poetry, through dance, get a better job, make a bit more money, to get the children to school.  Which means that it all starts with leadership. The rot starts with leadership, and all good things start with leadership.That’s my view.

Ron Bennington: That takes us to your character. Does she have the best intentions for her son? I find myself so curious about the motivations. And also, I saw her as almost the maternal-paternal figure. She had such a masculine energy in what she desired for her son.

Vanessa Redgrave: Well I think women do have a masculine energy. The fact is, what does she finally urge her son to do? To negotiate a peace. Well isn’t that a good thing? Unfortunately, it means that if he agrees to negotiate a peace he’s going to lose his life. She’s somewhat aware of that. But she’s always believed that she’d rather have her son die for the good of his country than live in oblivion of what people need, and go to nice restaurants and enjoy nice meals and have some kids.

Ron Bennington: Great men or great women are pushed from an early age. They’re almost trained to go after that.

Vanessa Redgrave: Volumnia, the lady I play, has trained her son. She’s never shot a gun herself but she’s had him go to the best people who can give him the best sharp shooting, the best heavy combat in the streets training. And she’s training her grandson and all the other little children in her country to do exactly that because she’s expecting a possibly endless war to be the situation for her country. And yet, she’s brought face to face with the fact that her country is forced to beg for peace. And she begs peace and the peace treaty.

Ron Bennington: I did picture in my mind that the grandson– that would be the next project. I also thought it would be so interesting for him because here he is, the strongest warrior of his time, but he was able to just melt in front of his mother’s desires. And he knew that he wasn’t going to make it out of this alive.

Vanessa Redgrave: Yes, he knows that he will not be alive for very much longer if he negotiates peace. And she has awoken him to the fact that he has betrayed his country– understandably from the point of view– as his country betrayed him. So this symbiotic relationship between him and his country, – it’s [shudder] you can talk for a long time, but I’m fascinated to think of these questions which we had to think about when we were making the film. Especially that scene with the mother, because the mother is the history of his country, and the history of his family speaking to him. And it is his anger, which prevents him from understanding the last thing he should do as a great noble man representing generations of people who have given their lives for their country. If he doesn’t negotiate peace– his mother knows it– his name will be blasted and accused for centuries. But he’s not thinking of that. He’s realizing that he owes it to his country to negotiate for peace. It doesn’t mean that he’s going to be friends with his country. His country’s never promised to bring him back with honors, or have him fight again, they haven’t made that request. They just put it all on him. You negotiate peace. And his mother says that to him. And she knows he’s going to pay for it terribly.

Ron Bennington: And I think his commitment was to his mother, not to his country. And the fact that he was saying, “use me as a sword” to the men…I felt like she was the one who made that sword.

Vanessa Redgrave: …”make you a sword of me, yes.” It’s true. How right you are.

Ron Bennington: And as we plan wars, and defend ourselves, we’ll never get to peace. As we put so much thought into war, and every civilization has done this.

Vanessa Redgrave: That is so true, and yet we have the universal declaration of human rights, that says “in order that war will not be the first solution, in order that people won’t rise up in rebellion, we the United Nations of the world will follow these principles, against genocide, against torture, for refugees, for civil and social rights, and of course the great American Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution itself. Now there are some extremely alarming refusals to follow international conventions, and negotiating for peace has been very much delayed for the last few years.

Ron Bennington: You’ve spent so much of your life political in those ways. Do you ever feel that peace can’t be sustained? Do you sometimes feel like what have I done all this for?

Vanessa Redgrave: No, I don’t. It’s extremely alarming and upsetting when time and again you think, “how have we not learned the lesson” thinking of various governments in this recent period. I’ve seen Russia heading back headlong into an extremely dangerous authoritarian rule, but all of the other governments of the world wants to be friends with that. Same with China. Everybody’s poured money to invest in China because there’s a lot of very poor people there who need a dollar a week.

Ron Bennington: And it seems like we’re in a system where money trumps everything.

Vanessa Redgrave: Well, with any thing, but now I think it’s very much understood that there has to be huge reforms. In my view, the form of taxation– and I’m not talking about let the rich pay for everything and get it all shared out. That is not going to answer the present situation. So that’s one of the things that needs to be done, and could be done. There doesn’t seem to be the political will to do it. Ron, you’re so perspicacious, you’re really inspiring to listen to.

Ron Bennington: Thank you. And maybe the great thing that these are uncomfortable times, is…that’s when people make changes.

Vanessa Redgrave: Exactly. Look for instance at the support for the work of Amnesty International. That’s huge. It didn’t exist in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. There are people working for human rights all over the world who are doing fantastic sacrifices of every kind. Whether Burma, China, in Russia. People going out in the streets in spite of the fact that you can get murdered because you’ve made yourself a bit to public headed. That’s a big gain. You have to sometimes take the long view even though your heart is absolutely thumping with pain because in the short-term it’s costing people such a lot.

Ron Bennington: It’s a phenomenal film, Ralph Fiennes has done a terrific job of bringing this to the screen and your role is just fabulous. And it was so great to have the chance to meet you. Thank so much for coming in.

Vanessa Redgrave: Well I hope we meet again. We’ve never met before and I’m really pleased to meet you.

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